Market Economy Inputs Practice in Antidumping Proceedings involving Non-Market Economy Countries, 46816-46817 [E5-4357]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 154 / Thursday, August 11, 2005 / Notices
United States, or, if not, marketed under
the name of a U.S. firm and have at least
51 percent U.S. content of the value of
the finished product or service.
The participation fee is $7,700.00 per
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Applications
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manner, including publication in the
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doctm/tmcal.html) and other Internet
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trade media, direct mail, broadcast fax,
notices by industry trade associations
and other multiplier groups, and
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and welcome outreach assistance from
other interested organizations, including
other U.S. Government agencies.
Applications for the Mission will be
made available August 1, 2005, through
September 15, 2005. Applications can
be obtained from the U.S. Department of
Commerce Office of Business Liaison
(202) 482–1360 or from the mission Web
site at https://www.buyusa.gov/
centralamerica/en/. The application
deadline is September 16, 2005.
Completed applications should be
submitted to the Office of Business
Liaison. Applications received after that
date will be considered only if space
and scheduling constraints permit.
Contacts
Applications
Jennifer Andberg, Deputy Director,
Office of Business Liaison, Office of
the Secretary, Washington, DC. Tel:
(202) 482–1360. Jandberg@doc.gov.
Country Information
Daniel Thompson, Regional Senior
Commercial Officer for Central
America. Tel: (503) 2501–2060; Fax:
(503) 2501–2073.
Daniel.Thompson@mail.doc.gov.
Mary Boscia, Commercial Attache, El
Salvador. Tel: (503) 2501–2064; Fax:
VerDate jul<14>2003
16:14 Aug 10, 2005
Jkt 205001
(503) 2501–2073.
Mary.Boscia@mail.doc.gov.
Mitch Larsen, Senior Commercial
Officer, Guatemala. Tel: (502) 2326–
4261; Fax: (502) 2331–7373.
Mitch.Larsen@mail.doc.gov.
Rossana Lobo, Senior Commercial
Specialist, Honduras. Tel: (504) 236–
9320; Fax: (504) 238–2888.
Rossana.Lobo@mail.doc.gov.
Program Information
Wake Margo, Project Officer, Global
Trade Programs (GTP), Washington,
DC. Tel: (202) 482–2026; Fax: (202)
428–2718. Wake.Margo@mail.doc.gov.
Dated: August 5, 2005.
Timothy Thompson,
Executive Director, Global Trade Programs.
[FR Doc. E5–4347 Filed 8–10–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–FP–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Market Economy Inputs Practice in
Antidumping Proceedings involving
Non–Market Economy Countries
Import Administration,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Request for Comments
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: In antidumping proceedings
involving non–market economy
(‘‘NME’’) countries, the Department of
Commerce (‘‘the Department’’)
calculates normal value by valuing the
NME producers’ factors of production,
to the extent possible, using prices from
a market economy that is at a
comparable level of economic
development and that is also a
significant producer of comparable
merchandise. The goal of this surrogate
factor valuation is to use the ‘‘best
available information.’’ See section
773(c)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930;
Shangdong Huraong General Corp. v.
United States, 159 F. Supp.2d 714, 719
(CIT 2001). Normally, if a respondent or
producer of subject merchandise
sources an input from a market
economy supplier, the Department will
use the average input price paid by the
respondent to market economy
suppliers (in market economy currency)
to value all of the given input (both
imported and domestically–sourced)
used by respondents (or the producers
of the subject merchandise), provided
certain conditions are met.
The Department announced that is
was considering options to change
certain aspects of its policy and practice
regarding market economy input prices
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
and solicited public comment in a May
26, 2005 notice published in the Federal
Register (70 FR 30418). In response to
this first notice, the Department
received 21 submissions from interested
parties. After considering these
comments, the Department is requesting
comments regarding a proposed change
to the Department’s market economy
inputs practice, which is detailed
below.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by
September 6, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Written comments (original
and six copies) should be sent to Joseph
A. Spetrini, Acting Assistant Secretary
for Import Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce, Central
Records Unit, Room 1870, Pennsylvania
Avenue and 14th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lawrence Norton, Economist, or
Anthony Hill, Senior International
Economist, Office of Policy, Import
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution
Avenue, NW, Washington DC, 20230,
202–482–1579 or 202–482–1843,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In an NME antidumping proceeding,
the Department bases its calculation of
normal value on the NME producers’
factors of production, valued, to the
extent possible, using prices from a
market economy that is at a comparable
level of economic development to the
NME country and that is also a
significant producer of comparable
merchandise. See section 773(c)(1) of
the Tariff Act of 1930. Where an NME
producer purchases inputs from market
economy suppliers and pays in a market
economy currency, however, the
Department normally uses the actual
price paid for these inputs to value the
input in question, where possible. See
19 CFR 351.408(c)(1); See also Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Oscillating Fans and Ceiling
Fans from the People’s Republic of
China, 56 FR 55271 (October 25, 1991).
Where a portion of the input is
purchased from a market economy
supplier and the remainder from a non–
market economy supplier, the
Department will normally us the
average price paid for the inputs
sourced from market economy suppliers
to value all of the input1, provided four
conditions are met. First, the volume of
the imported input as a share of total
purchases from all sources must be
1 See
E:\FR\FM\11AUN1.SGM
19 CFR 351.408(c)(1)
11AUN1
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 154 / Thursday, August 11, 2005 / Notices
‘‘meaningful,’’ a term used in the
Preamble to the Regulations but which
is interpreted by the Department on a
case–by-case basis. See Antidumping
Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final
Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27366 (May 19,
1997) (Preamble). See, also, Shakeproof
v. United States, 268 F.3d 1376, 1382
(Fed. Cir. 2001) (Shakeproof). Second,
this average import price must reflect
arms–length, bona fide sales. See
Shakeproof at 14. Third, the Department
has disregarded all input values it has
reason to believe or suspect might be
dumped or subsidized. See China
National Machinery Import & Export
Corporation v, United States, 293 F.
Supp 2d 1334 (CIT 2003), as affirmed by
Federal Circuit, 104 Fed. Appx. 183
(Fed. Cir. 2004). Fourth, the Department
has disregarded the prices of inputs that
could not possibly have been used in
the production of subject merchandise
during the period of investigation or
review. See, e.g., Final Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain
Frozen and Canned Warmwater Shrimp
from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,
69 FR 71005 (December 8, 2004).
In comments submitted in response to
the Department’s May 26 Federal
Register notice requesting comment on
our current practice, seventeen
interested parties argued that the prices
paid for that portion of an input that
was purchased from market economy
countries often constitutes the ‘‘best
information available’’ required by the
statute for valuing domestically sourced
inputs. In particular, these parties
contended that using surrogate values in
place of actual market economy
purchase prices to value an entire input
would result in less accurate calculation
of normal value. These parties also
stressed that the Department already
requires that the quantity purchased
from market economy suppliers be
significant and that the transactions be
bona fide and conducted in market
economy currency. According to these
parties, the aforementioned
requirements already ensure that the
market economy purchase prices the
Department accepts constitute the ‘‘best
available information’’.
Other interested parties responding to
the request for comment, however,
submitted arguments that the
Department’s current case–by-case
assessment of what constitutes a
‘‘meaningful’’ quantity does not ensure
that the prices paid by respondents for
the portion of the input sourced from
market economy countries are an
accurate valuation of the entire input. In
particular, these parties have alleged
that it may be possible, under the
Department’s current practice, for
VerDate jul<14>2003
16:14 Aug 10, 2005
Jkt 205001
respondents to source a small amount of
an input on favorable terms with the
goal of manipulating the Department’s
margin calculations. Alternatively, these
parties claim, market economy suppliers
may sometimes offer limited quantities
of an input at prices that are much
lower than the price at which
respondents could acquire the total
amount of the input in question. Where
situations such as these occur, these
parties claim that it would be distortive
to use the prices paid for a portion of
an input sourced from market economy
suppliers to value the entire input.
Upon consideration of these
comments, the Department proposes to
continue to value respondents’ entire
input with the prices paid by them to
market economy suppliers of the input,
as long as the purchases reflect bona
fide sales, were made in market
economy currency, constitute a
‘‘meaningful’’ quantity, and could have
been used in the production of the
subject merchandise. However, the
Department’s goal is to better ensure
that the market economy input purchase
prices it accepts are as free as possible
from distortions and constitute the best
available information. Accordingly, we
are now proposing a change in the
Department’s practice that is intended
to reduce potential distortions in the
Department’s current market economy
inputs practice while continuing to use
the average price paid for the inputs
sourced from market economy suppliers
to value an entire input.
The Department is now proposing to
use respondents’ market economy
purchase prices to value all of the input
(provided the Department’s four other
requirements described above are met)
when the majority of each input by
volume is sourced from market
economy countries. Where respondents
source less than a majority of the total
volume of an input from market
economy countries in transactions
meeting the Department’s other
requirements, the Department will
weight–average the portion that was
purchased from market economy
countries, using the actual price paid,
with the portion sourced domestically,
using a surrogate value. The Department
welcomes comments on whether this
proposal would appropriately address
distortions that have been identified in
the Department’s market economy
inputs practice and whether this
proposal would be consistent with the
Department’s regulations.
Comments
Persons wishing to comment should
file a signed original and six copies of
each set of comments by the date
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
46817
specified above. The Department will
consider all comments received before
the close of the comment period.
Comments received after the end of the
comment period will be considered, if
possible, but their consideration cannot
be assured. The Department will not
accept comments accompanied by a
request that a part or all of the material
be treated confidentially because of its
business proprietary nature or for any
other reason. The Department will
return such comments and materials to
the persons submitting the comments
and will not consider them in the
development of any changes to its
practice. The Department requires that
comments be submitted in written form.
The Department recommends
submission of comments in electronic
form to accompany the required paper
copies. Comments filed in electronic
form should be submitted either by e–
mail to the webmaster below, or on CD–
ROM, as comments submitted on
diskettes are likely to be damaged by
postal radiation treatment.
Comments received in electronic form
will be made available to the public in
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the Import Administration
website at the following address: http:/
/ia.ita.doc.gov/.
Any questions concerning file
formatting, document conversion,
access on the Internet, or other
electronic filing issues should be
addressed to Andrew Lee Beller, Import
Administration Webmaster, at (202)
482–0866, email address: webmaster–
support@ita.doc.gov.
Dated: August 5, 2005.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import
Administration.
[FR Doc. E5–4357 Filed 8–10–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) has
submitted to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the
following proposal for collection of
information under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35).
Agency: United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO).
Title: Post Registration (Trademark
Processing).
E:\FR\FM\11AUN1.SGM
11AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 154 (Thursday, August 11, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46816-46817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-4357]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Market Economy Inputs Practice in Antidumping Proceedings
involving Non-Market Economy Countries
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Request for Comments
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In antidumping proceedings involving non-market economy
(``NME'') countries, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'')
calculates normal value by valuing the NME producers' factors of
production, to the extent possible, using prices from a market economy
that is at a comparable level of economic development and that is also
a significant producer of comparable merchandise. The goal of this
surrogate factor valuation is to use the ``best available
information.'' See section 773(c)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930;
Shangdong Huraong General Corp. v. United States, 159 F. Supp.2d 714,
719 (CIT 2001). Normally, if a respondent or producer of subject
merchandise sources an input from a market economy supplier, the
Department will use the average input price paid by the respondent to
market economy suppliers (in market economy currency) to value all of
the given input (both imported and domestically-sourced) used by
respondents (or the producers of the subject merchandise), provided
certain conditions are met.
The Department announced that is was considering options to change
certain aspects of its policy and practice regarding market economy
input prices and solicited public comment in a May 26, 2005 notice
published in the Federal Register (70 FR 30418). In response to this
first notice, the Department received 21 submissions from interested
parties. After considering these comments, the Department is requesting
comments regarding a proposed change to the Department's market economy
inputs practice, which is detailed below.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by September 6, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Written comments (original and six copies) should be sent to
Joseph A. Spetrini, Acting Assistant Secretary for Import
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Central Records Unit, Room
1870, Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence Norton, Economist, or Anthony
Hill, Senior International Economist, Office of Policy, Import
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington DC, 20230, 202-482-1579 or 202-482-
1843, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In an NME antidumping proceeding, the Department bases its
calculation of normal value on the NME producers' factors of
production, valued, to the extent possible, using prices from a market
economy that is at a comparable level of economic development to the
NME country and that is also a significant producer of comparable
merchandise. See section 773(c)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930. Where an
NME producer purchases inputs from market economy suppliers and pays in
a market economy currency, however, the Department normally uses the
actual price paid for these inputs to value the input in question,
where possible. See 19 CFR 351.408(c)(1); See also Final Determination
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Oscillating Fans and Ceiling Fans
from the People's Republic of China, 56 FR 55271 (October 25, 1991).
Where a portion of the input is purchased from a market economy
supplier and the remainder from a non-market economy supplier, the
Department will normally us the average price paid for the inputs
sourced from market economy suppliers to value all of the input\1\,
provided four conditions are met. First, the volume of the imported
input as a share of total purchases from all sources must be
[[Page 46817]]
``meaningful,'' a term used in the Preamble to the Regulations but
which is interpreted by the Department on a case-by-case basis. See
Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 62 FR 27296,
27366 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble). See, also, Shakeproof v. United
States, 268 F.3d 1376, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (Shakeproof). Second, this
average import price must reflect arms-length, bona fide sales. See
Shakeproof at 14. Third, the Department has disregarded all input
values it has reason to believe or suspect might be dumped or
subsidized. See China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation v,
United States, 293 F. Supp 2d 1334 (CIT 2003), as affirmed by Federal
Circuit, 104 Fed. Appx. 183 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Fourth, the Department
has disregarded the prices of inputs that could not possibly have been
used in the production of subject merchandise during the period of
investigation or review. See, e.g., Final Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value: Certain Frozen and Canned Warmwater Shrimp from
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 69 FR 71005 (December 8, 2004).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See 19 CFR 351.408(c)(1)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In comments submitted in response to the Department's May 26
Federal Register notice requesting comment on our current practice,
seventeen interested parties argued that the prices paid for that
portion of an input that was purchased from market economy countries
often constitutes the ``best information available'' required by the
statute for valuing domestically sourced inputs. In particular, these
parties contended that using surrogate values in place of actual market
economy purchase prices to value an entire input would result in less
accurate calculation of normal value. These parties also stressed that
the Department already requires that the quantity purchased from market
economy suppliers be significant and that the transactions be bona fide
and conducted in market economy currency. According to these parties,
the aforementioned requirements already ensure that the market economy
purchase prices the Department accepts constitute the ``best available
information''.
Other interested parties responding to the request for comment,
however, submitted arguments that the Department's current case-by-case
assessment of what constitutes a ``meaningful'' quantity does not
ensure that the prices paid by respondents for the portion of the input
sourced from market economy countries are an accurate valuation of the
entire input. In particular, these parties have alleged that it may be
possible, under the Department's current practice, for respondents to
source a small amount of an input on favorable terms with the goal of
manipulating the Department's margin calculations. Alternatively, these
parties claim, market economy suppliers may sometimes offer limited
quantities of an input at prices that are much lower than the price at
which respondents could acquire the total amount of the input in
question. Where situations such as these occur, these parties claim
that it would be distortive to use the prices paid for a portion of an
input sourced from market economy suppliers to value the entire input.
Upon consideration of these comments, the Department proposes to
continue to value respondents' entire input with the prices paid by
them to market economy suppliers of the input, as long as the purchases
reflect bona fide sales, were made in market economy currency,
constitute a ``meaningful'' quantity, and could have been used in the
production of the subject merchandise. However, the Department's goal
is to better ensure that the market economy input purchase prices it
accepts are as free as possible from distortions and constitute the
best available information. Accordingly, we are now proposing a change
in the Department's practice that is intended to reduce potential
distortions in the Department's current market economy inputs practice
while continuing to use the average price paid for the inputs sourced
from market economy suppliers to value an entire input.
The Department is now proposing to use respondents' market economy
purchase prices to value all of the input (provided the Department's
four other requirements described above are met) when the majority of
each input by volume is sourced from market economy countries. Where
respondents source less than a majority of the total volume of an input
from market economy countries in transactions meeting the Department's
other requirements, the Department will weight-average the portion that
was purchased from market economy countries, using the actual price
paid, with the portion sourced domestically, using a surrogate value.
The Department welcomes comments on whether this proposal would
appropriately address distortions that have been identified in the
Department's market economy inputs practice and whether this proposal
would be consistent with the Department's regulations.
Comments
Persons wishing to comment should file a signed original and six
copies of each set of comments by the date specified above. The
Department will consider all comments received before the close of the
comment period. Comments received after the end of the comment period
will be considered, if possible, but their consideration cannot be
assured. The Department will not accept comments accompanied by a
request that a part or all of the material be treated confidentially
because of its business proprietary nature or for any other reason. The
Department will return such comments and materials to the persons
submitting the comments and will not consider them in the development
of any changes to its practice. The Department requires that comments
be submitted in written form. The Department recommends submission of
comments in electronic form to accompany the required paper copies.
Comments filed in electronic form should be submitted either by e-mail
to the webmaster below, or on CD-ROM, as comments submitted on
diskettes are likely to be damaged by postal radiation treatment.
Comments received in electronic form will be made available to the
public in Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the Import
Administration website at the following address: https://ia.ita.doc.gov/
.
Any questions concerning file formatting, document conversion,
access on the Internet, or other electronic filing issues should be
addressed to Andrew Lee Beller, Import Administration Webmaster, at
(202) 482-0866, email address: webmaster-support@ita.doc.gov.
Dated: August 5, 2005.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E5-4357 Filed 8-10-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S
